


Just you and me.

by randomramblesff



Category: Community (TV)
Genre: (also happy bday joel because you turned 45 on the same day so...), Birthday, F/M, Fluff, One-Shot, Post Season 6, abed is there, because abed is better than soup, for my favourite 6 foot 4 lovable baboon jeffrey tobias winger, if anyone thinks annie wouldn't be able to afford this, let's just say that jeff's mom pays her a little bit to help out okay? Okay, on your 42nd birthday
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-21
Updated: 2016-11-21
Packaged: 2018-09-01 08:10:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,476
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8616292
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/randomramblesff/pseuds/randomramblesff
Summary: A fluffy one-shot fic in celebration of Jeff Winger's 42nd birthday... and Jeff and Annie "being together for over a year" now.





	

It usually takes Jeff around ten minutes to properly wake himself up and rub his eyes so they aren’t straining against the morning light, but it takes even longer when he’s still not recovered from travelling on Friday, even though they had a full day of taking it easy yesterday, just hanging out with Abed in his small apartment, ordering in Chinese and Skyping Troy at one point because it’s official; after two years, he’s finally nearing home.

He’s curled over on his side of their hotel room bed where they’re staying for five nights whilst they both have a couple of days off work and school. His lips are parted and his hair is all pushed to one side where it’s been pressed into his pillow, and she knows he’ll moan about it when he next scrolls through her phone, but Annie decides to take a picture at the end of the bed where she’s perched with one of his shirts on. His breathing is heavy but she knows he’ll be awake soon because he’s started to close his mouth and grit his teeth, which is something she’s picked up on in the past year or so.

He gulps and then exhales, letting his eyes unstick and open as he breathes. He looks over at the left side of the bed where she’d been sleeping, raising an eyebrow before drifting down towards where she’s knelt. She smiles and raises her shoulders which makes him cover his face with his arm because he knows exactly what’s coming. He attempts to groan, but there’s a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips as he starts to grumble.

“Don’t do it. Don’t say it. Don’t sing it.” She smiles further when he starts pointing a finger in her direction, and it’s all too infectious so he ends up scrunching up his face in order to disguise that he now has a full on, beaming grin on his face. She crawls across the bed, and he can see under his arm that there is nothing else underneath his shirt. It’s just baggy flowing fabric draping over her tiny, curvy body, loose enough that he can see the valley of her chest dip down where the buttons start, and her thighs appearing as she moves, where the shirt ends.

“Happy birthday to you… happy birthday to you…” He’s back to groaning as she starts to sing quietly, resting a hand on the inside of his leg where it’s covered by the sheets thrown across him. He’s wearing nothing but boxers and an old t-shirt because Annie was paranoid about having to rush in the event of a hotel fire, even when he was dopey and post-coital and was really looking forward to the idea of cuddling naked. It suddenly hits her as she reaches for his arm to pull it down from his face, that maybe he’s tired because of more than just the travelling.

“Happy birthday dear Je-ff…” His smile fades to something sweeter as her lips find his. Her hair is like a curtain surrounding them, so he lifts his hand up and cups it around the back of her head to brush some of it away, deepening the kiss so that she has to brace one of her own hands on his shoulder as she hovers over him. She pulls apart momentarily to whisper the final line.

“Happy birthday to you.”

He shakes his head at how blissful he feels, making their noses rub together before they carrying on hazily making out. He doesn’t even know what time it is or how long she’s been awake, or how bad his breath is right now, but she doesn’t seem to care and that’s all that matters. She pulls apart again and he’s thinking she’s about to tell him they should get up and at ‘em sometime soon because there’s breakfast to be had and places to go, but instead she just watches his eyes and smiles.

“I love you.”

He leans forward immediately to capture her lips again before returning her breathy words.

“I love you too.”

He kisses her again but it isn’t for long because then he’s sliding his hand from her hair down to her waist so that he can slowly roll her over onto her side, kissing and talking in-between.

“Okay, so this isn’t,” He presses a kiss under her jaw, before reaching for the first button on his shirt she’s wearing, “the worst way to start my birthday.”

He lowers himself to undo the rest of the buttons along his shirt which he could have just pulled over her head by now, but it’s his birthday and he can tease her if he wants to. Whilst he’s away from her mouth, she quickly asks about breakfast, which makes him smile further because yes, he knows her _that_ well.

“So are we going to have to order room service now?”

He lifts his head and it makes her bite her lip because not only does he feel so impeccably good against her, he also looks unfazed and uncaring about how he looks. He still has sleep in the corner of his eyes and his neck is looking especially stubbly where he hasn’t tamed it in a few days, and all of it added together sends a thrill and buzzing sensation through her because she knows he feels comfortable in just being _Jeff._

“I don’t really want to think about food right now.”

* * *

 

There're plates on a tray when they leave the room and head downstairs to the lobby, ready and waiting to step into the next waiting cab. Annie’s suggested that they head to Santa Monica and walk down the beach before heading back to Abed for lunch, and surprisingly he barely even tries to protest, other than the idea of trying to walk there because that would be an over two hour walk from where they’re staying and as much as he enjoys a hike and getting his body moving, after this morning and the night before, his legs aren’t quite cut out for that kind of adventure.

They settle on a taxi and hop right in, Annie leaning on his shoulder almost immediately, leaving the right-hand seat free for her handbag. It’s a thirty-minute drive but it’s not the worst experience in the world; their hands are intertwined in Jeff’s lap, their thumbs brushing over each other. The sights are blurring past them and when something attracts Annie’s attention she makes a quiet ‘Ooh’ noise and lifts her head to see if he saw it too, but he’s looking down at her every time she does.

When they get to their destination, they pay the driver and then steer themselves in the direction of the beach’s sidewalk. The sea is calm and it’s a nice change to have warm sunlight beating down on them compared to the chilly breezes of Denver’s autumn, so much so that Jeff stops in his tracks to look up and close his eyes before continuing to walk. It gains him a peck on the lips and a boost in vitamin D and serotonin levels so he thinks the brief pause is worth it.

They end up walking off the path onto the sand, Jeff rolling his eyes when he realises he probably should have worn his sneakers rather than his boots, and that Annie needs to remind him to get some leather cleaner when they get back home in three days’ time.

Jeff swings her hands and smiles down at her, his smile lines unfading because he’s squinting more than anything because he _also_ regrets not slipping his sunglasses in his pocket when he left the hotel. He’s been so used to the early ending days over the past few weeks that his eyewear hasn’t been in use very often. Annie of course, is smugly wearing her pair of Rayban aviators he bought her at the airport on their last trip to LA, which he’d classed as a Chrismukkah present even though it was secretly because she looked adorable in them and he wanted to see her looking that way for as many summers as the glass and metal frame lasts.

They pass another hand-holding couple and the sight makes him dip his head and kiss the back of Annie’s hair because yes, he’s that much of a sap now (or perhaps he already was, but he hadn’t had the chance to express it so openly before). They’re silent for a few yards more until Annie turns her head and looks up at him, smiling and pouting all at the same time, trying to figure out the expression on Jeff’s face.

“What was that for?” She asks. He shrugs and replies with a simple…

“Nothing.”

She slows their walk down, partly so she can carry on talking but also because the pier is up ahead and in sight, and as much as she wants to take a visit and snap some goofy photos in a booth, she also doesn’t mind the idea of strolling along the shore with the tide rolling in and out beside them.

“I’m sorry we’re not doing anything too special, and the fact that you don’t have any _real_ gifts to unwrap but-.”

“No, Annie, stop.” Her ears pull back as he stops short and tugs her towards him. He knows by the tone of her voice that it’s been weighing on her mind ever since she told him about the flight details two weeks prior.

“Look where we are. I wouldn’t be here without you.” He gestures to the beach, the sea, the sand, the everything, as he talks.

“I don’t need anything more.” He sighs and shakes his head before looking up at the sky which is almost so bright that it’s white above them, and laughs breathily before looking back down at her, and it hits him how happy he is. He’s actually _happy_. There’s still his career to deal with and his breakdowns from time to time, and the fact that he’s never going to be perfect, but in the moment, his head feels clear and he feels free to just say that he _is_ happy. “I love you.”

He shakes his head again, not being able to resist the temptation to kiss her with everything he has before stepping back again.

“And I’m so fucking happy.”

She rolls her eyes at him and it makes him feel dumb and cheesy and all those lame terms he’s always tried to avoid, but he’s done with avoiding them. He’s proud to be love-struck and in awe of her with his every living breath.

“I’m sorry for cursing but that’s just how happy I am.”

She smiles his favourite kind of smile, all proud and shy at the same time, making her cheeks round and full, and her eyes crinkle under her glasses. He reaches out and slowly pulls them from her face so he can properly look at her, hooking them around his little finger before kissing her nose and then her mouth. She laughs against him when he scoops his free arm around her back and pulls her feet up off the ground.

As he slides her back down she keeps her hands stretched up around his neck.

“This is supposed to be _your_ birthday.”

He tilts his head and raises and eyebrow in confusion, his eyes dropping to her hands before he presses a kiss to the inside of one of her wrists.

“Um, who said it wasn’t? I got free flight tickets, a hotel and I’m pretty sure somebody said something about dinner later?” His eyes are squinted and dark, and his jawline is enhanced by his smirk, and she can see the small V dipping down between his collarbone and she can’t believe her luck.

“Yes… but you’re still trying to make _me_ happy.”

“Um, when am I ever not?”

“Oh! Glad to hear you admit it.” She grins and loosens her grip around him, turning her heels in the sand so that she leaves two perfectly oval shaped shapes in the sand in front of him. He catches up with her small steps in a stride or two, finding her rummaging a hand around in her bag, pulling out her phone and swiping to the camera.

He doesn’t even question it, he just dips his neck and rests his chin on her shoulder and smiles, before then turning to kiss her temple, pull a face, cover a hand in front of her, cross his eyes and do as much as he can to ruin her shot until he stills and she presses the shutter for a perfectly candid shot of them both smiling at each other in the screen of her phone.

“Don’t post them anywhere.”

They hold hands again, their feet syncing up as they sort of sway and wander down the rest of the beach.

“I can’t make any promises.”

* * *

 

Abed surprises them by joining them at the pier, so he buys them all hot dogs (it’s his gift to Jeff – he couldn’t think of anything he’d enjoy receiving in time) and they all eat them on a bench. Jeff answers “It’s my birthday!” when Abed asks if he’s sure about all the bread and the carbs and all the ketchup and mustard before he hands over the cash. He ends up smiling because he was there too when Jeff ended up in hospital on this very same day a few years ago.

Abed and Annie sit together and end up laughing for what seems like a whole five minutes without stopping, and usually, Jeff would probably feel a little left out, but seeing them together actually fills something inside of him he hadn’t known was missing.

Abed is still Abed, but there’s something more refined about him. He knows how to listen and he’s a lot better at reading a situation, and he doesn’t end up commenting on every action and every word as if it has a deeper meaning or as if it’s a cue for the next scene.

Jeff ends up dosing off into a thought about what things would have been like if himself and Annie had been dating whilst the group was still the group. He’s thought about it on more than one occasion, but being with Abed now that he’s living with Annie and now that they’re pretty much inseparable, makes his mind wander off into the idea even more so. Just passing a flimsy square of tissue to Annie instead of also thinking of Abed’s dripping condiments of choice, makes him think about how they might have gone off on their own more often. He always puts Annie first now. He wouldn’t have minded finding out what that would have meant for everyone else, but he’s also perfectly happy with the outcome of this scenario too.

He’s also a lot happier to show affection for Annie around Abed than anyone else because back at home with Britta, she’s always pointing out his actions and asking whether it means things are getting serious. He always thinks – _if only she knew._

* * *

 

They’re seeing Abed for the next couple of days so they don’t make a huge commotion over saying goodbye just yet, instead they just wave him off and walk around for a while more before finding a cab to jump into so that they can get ready for the evening and Jeff can prepare himself for the aforementioned ‘dinner’.

Annie says he shouldn’t dress up in anything too formal because as he already knows, she’s on a tight budget and will be until the end of the year and possibly into the Spring, so it’s not going to be a place with five different sizes of forks and knives laid out on the table. She washes her hair, though, which gives him time to work out what he _will_ be wearing as well as time to lay back on their bed again and nap… accidentally.

She walks about of the bathroom in nothing but a towel, but drops it and curls it up in her hand to swat him and lure him out of sleep.

He sits bolt upright, blinking hard because Annie is naked and wet in front of him, and those two words together are a sure-fire way to wake him up.

“Hmm? What? What’s going on? What can I do?”

“Nothing! Just wake up. We have a fair bit of time but it might be busy because it’s a weekend.”

“Do we have enough time for…” He trails off but nods forward and drops his eyes up and down her. Her shoulders sink and she puts on a blank face but he wiggles his eyebrows nonetheless.

“I just showered! And you were exhausted after this morning. This is what happens when you turn forty-two.”

He gapes and moves his jaw around in shock, trying not to laugh all the same because he knows she’s purposefully trying to push his buttons.

“Well just for that you owe me something.”

She crosses her arms over her chest, attempting to display a stern expression. His eyes drop again, glueing to certain parts of her body for longer than the rest.

“I _just_ showered.”

He flicks his eyebrows up before slowly and suggestively picking at the button on his jeans, before pulling the zip down with a satisfying noise that sends a jolt right through her.

“I never said _I_ owe you anything.”

It’s her turn to gape as he hangs a foot off the bed and attempts to pull her forward with his toes at the back of her thigh.

“If it makes things better I can put on my ‘Birthday Suit’? It’s not going to speed things up, though.”

* * *

 

“Well on a scale of one to ten, how good has this birthday been? I know you’re not a huge fan of celebrating it but at least it was something, right? We got to see Abed… we had a nice dinner… we walked along the beach…”

Jeff mumbles as they walk back to their hotel - (the restaurant hadn’t been too far so they’d skipped out on an overpriced cab for the evening) – “We had great sex… twice.”

He chuckles when she elbows him in the rib.

“Uhh… I’d give it a solid eight.”

“Eight?! You’re meant to say ten to make me happy!”

“I’m saving ten for when you buy me a car when you become President!”

“I’m not going to become President! I mean, we do now have proof that _anyone_ can be,” (She’s pretty certain she hears Jeff mutter ‘piece of orange garbage’ under his breath as a car passes), “but that doesn’t mean I _want_ to be one. You know that. Plus, if anyone is buying anyone a car, it should be you buying _me_ one because mine is falling apart.”

“Uh, whose birthday wish is this?”

“You know what I mean.” She smiles and sighs and squeezes his hand.

“No, I’m kidding. It was ten out of ten. Eleven, in fact.”

She turns to him with her face lit up, her right hand in the air like she’s wearing a lightbulb above her head.

“Oooh! We haven’t finished watching Stranger Things! We should watch it when we get back.”

“ _That_ is a good idea, but only if you don’t fall asleep during it.”

“Says you mister twenty-minute power nap.”

He huffs out and pouts and they fall silent again before he drops his head so that only she can hear him amongst the passing Sunday nightlife.

“I’m serious. The last birthday I enjoyed this much was when I got a load of money because I won a case… and this is better.” She leans up to kiss him when she remembers one of their recent bedtime conversations about what’s next for the both of them. He’s still got his career to figure out.

“Are you still thinking about that?”

He nods slowly when he’s standing back up straight.

“Yeah, I think I’m gonna’ to do it.”

“I’m proud of you. Although I still think you could make a great teacher if you put your mind to it… if you think going back will fulfil you, then… you should do it.”

“I’m not sure how I’m going to yet, but if it does end up going well then who knows, maybe I _will_ be able to get you a car.”

They stop just outside of the hotel, holding each other’s hands.

“We’ll work it out. We’re a team.”

Jeff leans down and Annie’s takes a moment to treasure that feeling; the _knowing_ that he’s sure about every move. He rests his forehead against hers, his breath warm against her skin; a contrast to the cooling air around her.

“Just you and me."


End file.
